Beautiful Bruges!

Ok, so…. Bruges is pretty much amazing! I can’t believe how beautiful the city is, it really looks like something out of a movie. The city itself is so romantic, I wish Chris were here with me! The streets are all made of cobblestone, there’s canals between the streets, the buildings are colourful and Beauty and the Beast looking. The only word I can think of to describe Bruges is charming. On top of that, I’m in fries and chocolate heaven! What more could a girl ask for?
I got here Sunday around noon and set out as soon as I dropped my stuff off at the hostel. I stayed at Snuffel hostel which was really great, the staff was really friendly and they had a fun bar/lobby to hang out in and drink cheap 1 euro beer. Sunday I visited to Groening Museum, which has a lot of Belgian art in it, including many works by Jan Van Eych. I had never heard of him, but apparently he’s kind of a big deal here. I also went to the Gruuthuse Museum that had a lot of displays about how people lived in Belgium in the 15th and 16th centuries and some beautiful tapestries. Included in the admission to the Gruuthuse was admission to the Church of Our Lady. In the Church of Our Lady, Michelangelo’s statue “Madonna and Child” is displayed, so that was really cool to see. Back at the hostel I met 2 really cool girls, Laura from Vancouver and Rana from California. We went out to dinner together at a cheap little Italian place called Trium. I have to admit, I was kind of nervous about traveling alone and being shy to meet people, but this really made me feel better and reassured me that travelers are generally friendly people and it’s easy to make new friends. That night we hung out with 2 other people from our room a girl from Taiwan and a guy named Aidan from Ireland. We sat around and played “Asshole” all night and talked. It was a really fun time and I was happy to have met so many cool people at my first stop.
Monday was another fun day, it was cloudy and freezing, but the show must go on. French fries in Belgium are amazing, and I admit I indulged twice on Monday; I had to try them with multiple toppings obviously! The first time I got mayonnaise on top (I was in heaven!) and the second time I tried this spicy sauce called Samurai, which was even more amazing. Laura, Rana and I ventured out Monday morning to go on a Brewery tour and had a few amazing stops on the way. We saw this amazing candy store called “Zucchero” where you can watch them making the candy. They make little hard candy with such intricate designs in them, like the candies we saw being made had the name “Adam” in the middle of them. It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen and we even got to try the candy while it was still warm when they finished. We also stopped at this amazing chocolate shop called Dumont. Of course no trip to Belgium would be complete without sampling some of the chocolate! It was so delicious, there are chocolate shops everywhere in Bruges, and it’s a wonder everyone in the town doesn’t weigh 400 pounds! The Brewery tour was really neat, it made me think of the Keith’s Brewery back home. The beer was called “Brugges Zot” which means “The Mad Bruges”. After the tour, Laura, Rana and I went our separate ways for a while and I visited the Holy Blood Chapel where they have a vial of what is supposedly Jesus’ Blood. It’s a very small church, but a huge deal for the people of Bruges and religious pilgrims from all over. Next up, I climbed the Belfry in town to burn off some of those fries! 366 steps up to the top and it was worth it for such a beautiful view of the city. I also got to see the workings of the clock inside the tower and the huge bells that they set of every 15 mins. My last stop of the day was probably my favourite: The Chocolate Museum!!!! Yes, there is a heaven. The museum was so interesting; it traced the “evolution” of chocolate from its use in the Mayan era to different brands of chocolate in Belgium today. They had displays about how cocoa is grown to the composition of different types of chocolate to recipes that were used for chocolate drinks in the middle ages. The best part was the end of the tour where there was “chocolate art” on display and a demonstration. It is incredible the things that can be done with chocolate! They had full on sculptures of queens made, elaborate hats and even a replica of the “Madonna with Child” done in chocolate! At the demonstration a very angry Korean woman explained/ barked out how pralines are made in Belgium, and most importantly let us sample them at the end.
Monday night I just took things easy again, since my train to Amsterdam was early the next day. Bruges was such an amazing city, I definitely want to go back and hopefully see more of Belgium one day. I’m off to Amsterdam now for a few days and can’t wait to see what that’s like. If it’s half as nice as Bruges I’ll be a very happy girl! Miss you all and can’t wait to see you again soon!

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